Author: Bishop Kelly

Whenever I am in Jerusalem, I visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It is an ancient church built over the site of Golgotha where Jesus died and the tomb where he was buried. They’re very close to each other: both places are inside of …

In the Gospel of Luke, all the events of Easter take place in less than a single day. Yet what a day it was! Jesus was seen early at dawn and ascended to the Father late that night. In the meanwhile, he ate twice, once …

Spring officially begins on Sunday, Palm Sunday. On that day there will be 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness. The winter darkness is gone for a while. As one drives around the Valley, one sees the various trees in blossom. Unless one …

Sophomore Retreat – March 15, 2016 Having heard the gospel story of the conversation between Pontius Pilate and Jesus, I have three questions. [Raise your hands if you know the answer] What language did Pilate speak? Latin What language did Jesus speak? Aramaic It’s most …

Faculty Retreat Finally, someone has done scientific research on a phenomenon we have all experienced. Recently, neuroscientists at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana published their findings on what they called “the doorway effect.” To give an example, let us suppose you’re sitting in …

Moses and God had a very close relationship. According to the Book of Exodus, Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights with God on Mt. Sinai. (However, one source says Moses came down from the mountain 6 times, primarily to check on the People of …

Generally speaking, many people consider God in the Old Testament portrayed in more judgmental terms than in the New Testament. Yet, in today’s two readings, the image of God in the Book of Isaiah is much gentler than in the Gospel of John. Perhaps the …

Once again we hear in the gospel of a debate between Jesus and his opponents. This time it’s about power. Specifically, power over evil. Both sides have the ability to cast out “demons”. All evil, especially sickness, was at that time considered caused by demons. …

We are accustomed to refer to the Ten Commandments as the basic moral foundation of Christian behavior. There is some truth to that, but it’s not the whole story. There are in fact 613 Commandments in the Law of Moses, contained in the first five …

This story is proclaimed every year during Lent. So the priest is always wearing purple vestments. It seems a bit awkward in light of the rich man described as being dressed in purple. In the time of Jesus, purple clothes were worn only by royalty, …